The Department of Health and Human Services is advancing a deprescribing initiative to help patients safely stop psychiatric medications
Federal health officials met with mental health professionals to draft clinical guidance for antidepressant withdrawal and non-drug treatments
Significant scientific gaps exist in distinguishing withdrawal effects from depression relapse, and in understanding how those effects vary by drug and length of use
HHS agencies will train clinicians at more than 1,400 federally qualified health centers in medically supervised tapering and issue billing guidance so providers can be paid for deprescribing
Critics of current practice argue that withdrawal is often misdiagnosed as relapse, in part because there is no diagnostic code for prolonged withdrawal and little research into long-term effects
The Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is moving forward with an initiative that could reshape how millions of Americans approach mental health treatment. Known as deprescribing, the effort aims to help patients safely stop taking psychiatric medications, particularly antidepressants that have been prescribed for years with little oversight regarding long-term consequences.
Read Full Article: https://www.naturalnews.com/2026-07-14-kennedy-hhs-help-americans-get-off-antidepressants.html
